for
Fundraising
Children of the Andes
Building a better future for vulnerable children in Colombia
Children of the Andes (COTA) was established in 1991 to provide support to
Colombia's most vulnerable children by working in partnership with local NGOs.
Fundraising at University
Below are just some of the ways you can raise money for Children of the Andes.
Be as creative as you can, as this will help attract people’s interest, but remember
also to be realistic about resources!
Any excuse for a party…
Film showings
Pub quiz night
Themed night in a bar/
club/student union
Link up with your university film society
or just get together with a group of
film enthusiasts to organise ticketed
events such as:
Themed quiz ideas- Latin America,
world music and cinema.
• Fancy dress party with a prize for
the best costume.
• Carnival, Latin American music.
• Latin American film festival.
• Monthly film showings (themed e.g.
films about street children and/or
Colombia; or general).
Charity theatre performance
Link up with a local salsa club or
bar and get them to offer their
premises for free (they will get the
profits from the bar).
Hold a raffle after the show or
during the interval.
Organise a salsa demonstration and/
or lessons on the night.
Formal dinner or ball
Charge an entrance fee and hold
a raffle.
This could be a big fundraiser as you
can charge more for the tickets, but it
may be an idea to link up with other
societies to share the responsibility.
Make it a regular event so that
everyone benefits (COTA, the
bar and all the Latin dance
enthusiasts out there!)
Remember not to overstretch yourselfa small, successful event is much
better than a large, unsuccessful one!
Colours of the Colombian flag:
all drinks and decoration to be
yellow, blue or red.
Faculty themed ball: everyone
comes in a costume that represents
their degree e.g. Medical students
go as doctors, English students go
as Shakespeare.
Salsa party/ lessons
Ask the university drama society or
local theatre to donate part or all of
one night’s box office.
Try and secure sponsorship through
gift in kind (i.e. free / reduced price
venue, drinks company sponsorship).
Themes:
If your local pub or bar has a regular
quiz night, get them to donate the
proceeds from one evening or ask
them if you can charge a small fee
to raise money for COTA.
Sports tournament /
Mini World Cup
Organise a mini world cup to
coincide with the next world cup.
Primary school style, with egg and
spoon and three legged races,
obstacle courses, the ‘Mum’s and
Dad’s race’ (but replaced with the
lecturers).
To discuss how you can fundraise for Children of the Andes, contact us on:
t 020 7549 0225 e [email protected] w www.childrenoftheandes.org
Development House, 56–64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT Children of the Andes is a UK registered Charity, No. 1075037
Tips:
Ask your student union bar to donate
one free drink per person at the event
Advertise and sell tickets for the
event well in advance to ensure
income and attendance
Organise a raffle and give a ticket to
everyone who pays in advance
for
Fundraising
Children of the Andes
Building a better future for vulnerable children in Colombia
Children of the Andes (COTA) was established in 1991 to provide support to
Colombia's most vulnerable children by working in partnership with local NGOs.
Fundraising at University
Fashion show
Inequality events
Get fashion students or a local
shop / designer involved.
Highlight the inequality in the world.
Everyone pays the same for an event
for example a dinner, but through
random allocation some people are
given a luxury meal whilst others are
only fed a very basic one.
Sell tickets to the event.
Variety show / cabaret /
karaoke
Get music and drama students
involved. Make it as unusual and
creative as you can to encourage
people to get involved and to
come along on the night.
Crazy sponsored events
And for those long summer
holidays…
Organise a fundraising adventure
activity with friends or by yourself:
• Home…white water rafting,
skydiving, bungee jumping, trekking
( e.g. The Three Peaks Challenge ),
sponsored bike ride, marathon.
Male leg waxing, drastic haircuts, go
to lectures in a bikini for a day etc.
Persuade the lecturers to participate
in order to draw in more sponsors.
Sponsored lecture
attendance
Challenge your fellow students to go
to a full week of lectures and charge
them £1 for every lecture they fail to
attend.
General tips:
Be as creative as you can- the more
wacky or interesting, the more you
are likely to raise.
Library fine / late essay
donation
Get your deparment office to fine
students for (very) late essays and
donate the proceeds to COTA.
Charity lecture
Ask your lecturers (Spanish and
Latin American Studies, Geography,
Politics, History, Development) to help
you organise a guest speaker.
Charge an entrance fee and/or
arrange for the speaker to waive his/
her fee so it can be donated to COTA.
Always have information about the
charity at your events and refer
anyone who is particularly interested
to our website.
Be realistic about the entrance fee
–don’t make it too expensive- but
make sure you will actually raise
money!
Plan well ahead and make sure you
don’t overstretch yourself in terms of
resources.
Keep records of everything you
spend and all your income- financial
transparency is a crucial part of
charitable fundraising.
To discuss how you can fundraise for Children of the Andes, contact us on:
t 020 7549 0225 e [email protected] w www.childrenoftheandes.org
Development House, 56–64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT Children of the Andes is a UK registered Charity, No. 1075037
• Away…If you plan to go
backpacking over the summer
holidays, find out about any
challenging and interesting treks or
activities you can do for which you
could rise sponsorship e.g. The Inca
Trail to Machupicchu in Peru, please
contact Children of the Andes for
more information.